Ben Edwards, one of SmartThingsâ€™ three co-founders, is having a bit fun with his technology, which includes a 1960s-Batman style spinning of a world globe, center left, to open a secret bookcase door that leads an upstairs loft in his Arden Hills home, Tuesday, February 5, 2013. (Pioneer Press: Chris Polydoroff)

The Spark socket has Internet capabilities, meaning a light bulb screwed into it can be controlled from afar over the Internet using a smartphone or tablet.

Australia's Ninja Blocks is a budding ecosystem of devices that endows ordinary objects with online capabilities via sensors to detect movement and more.

Minnesota-based SmartThings has pioneered smart-home technology and seen early success with high visibility, robust funding and industry partnerships.

The compact Twine device uses an assortment of internal and external sensors to alert its owners over the Internet about any changes in its surroundings.

Marcus Schappi’s compulsion to endow inanimate objects with Internet capabilities was sparked by the loss of a beloved chicken to a fox.

Schappi’s home in Sydney, Australia, abuts a national park, and the predator would emerge from the woods to stalk his three egg-laying “chooks” — Hen Solo, Princess Layer and Chook Norris.

When the fox turned Hen Solo into a pile of feathers, Schappi knew he had to act.

The electronics expert installed Internet-connected motion sensors and a camera so he’d know at once, via online notifications, when something was amiss. This worked so well that he got a good shot of the fox.

Schappi is the creator of Ninja Blocks, a system of sensors and miniaturized computers that can detect motion, changes in temperature and humidity, ringing doorbells, and more. Any such event triggers an Internet action — such as an email, a text message or the transfer of a just-snapped photo of a fox to an online folder.

The Australian is not alone in expanding the Internet to unusual new places.

In a recent technology wave some are calling the “Internet of things,” entrepreneurs are devising ways to connect ordinary objects, such as light bulbs and clothes washers, to the Internet. Much of this activity is taking place in Minnesota, with companies like SmartThings and Spark Devices getting a great deal of attention.

Such technology, though still in its infancy, has drawn big money in some cases. The makers of an online-connected, sensor-equipped gadget called the Twine asked for $35,000 on Kickstarter about a year ago and got $556,541.

Likewise, SmartThings solicited $250,000 on Kickstarter in September and received $1.2 million. This fledgling company has since appeared to blossom, announcing a $3 million seed round and boasting a significant presence at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

SmartThings, in a manner similar to Ninja Blocks, has devised an array of sensors and compact computer gear that, in the company’s words, “makes your world smarter.”

How this happens is left to the users’ imaginations.

They can affix a sensor to their dogs’ collars and get notified when Rover wanders too far afield. They can be pinged when postal mail is placed in the mailbox, when the front door opens, when the washer or the dryer complete a cycle, or when a home’s temperature un-expectedly takes a dive or the basement fills with water.

SmartThings kits include a hub that physically links to the home’s Internet router and wirelessly connects with and receives feedback from a variety of motion, presence, moisture, temperature and vibration sensors. These are to be available later this year.

Edwards is having a bit of fun with his technology. In 1960s-Batman style, the spinning of a world globe in his home opens a secret door that leads to an upstairs loft. This occurs when a magnet triggers a sensor, sending a message to the Internet, via the hub, to trigger another piece of SmartThings tech that pops that door open.

BRIGHT IDEAS

Minneapolis-based Spark Devices has focused on one piece of Internet-connected hardware — a light socket — that gives users full control of their home lighting from their computer, phone or tablet.

This opens up all kinds of possibilities, according to co-founder Zach Supalla.

With Spark-friendly phone apps, a Spark socket can be set as a sunrise-style alarm clock that increases a bulb’s intensity gradually to nudge a deep sleeper gently into wakefulness. Such an app can turn lights on and off randomly while the owner is on vacation, or flash as a notification when an email or text message comes in.

Suppala said he was inspired to create the Spark socket by his father, who is deaf, and has use of an Internet- connected bulb that blinks to let him know when someone is trying to contact him.

Options expand when a Spark socket is connected with Internet-of-things technology from other companies.

Spark Devices has teamed with Supermechanical, the Austin, Texas-based inventor of the Twine device, to make use of that system’s assortment of internal and external sensors. This is handy for causing a Spark-connected bulb to flash when, say, a movement is detected, or when the pipes in a home freeze.

The brick-like, brightly colored Twine device operates just fine on its own, as well, with software that sets up rules based on the behavior of its sensors. One such rule could be, “WHEN moisture sensor gets wet THEN text ‘the basement is flooding!’ ”

One of the most popular uses for the Twine is in the laundry room. Supermechanical co-founder John Kestner said he was surprised by how many of his customers want to put the device atop their washers and dryers so the vibration sensor detects when their clothes are done and pings them over the Internet.

OPEN TO INNOVATION

The Internet-of-things startups aren’t the first to tackle such problems. Companies like Comcast already offer home-monitoring and home-control technologies replete with sensors, rules-based software and the like.

But such services involve monthly fees and are not “open” in the sense that users can’t tinker with them.

Internet-of-things entrepreneurs say they are “disruptive” in that they are innovating at a breakneck pace, free of corporate restrictions, and are rewriting the rules of what is possible practically on a monthly basis.

Supalla points to the Nest, an Internet-connected thermostat, as a shining example.

The Nest is the brainchild of Tony Fadell, who is largely credited with creating the iPod when he was at Apple. The Nest, with its Apple-like elegance, dead-simple controls and Internet smarts, has drawn a cult following and decent sales despite early skepticism that anyone would want to swap out their thermostats.

“The Nest is a huge inspiration for us,” said Supalla, who is hoping to ship his Spark socket by the end of this year. “It shows that if you create something new, innovative and simple, people will gobble it up.”

Julio's Pioneer Press duties include writing, often about tech, and helping manage the paper's website and social media. He also uses virtual-reality cameras and other tech tools to commit journalism. In his spare time, Julio writes for the TidBITS Apple-news site, where he is a contributing editor. See his blog at ojezap.com.

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